I asked Telus how much to cancel my plan. They said they Changed their policy on canceling plans. It is now $250.00 per month on how many months left. Mine will cost over $5000.00 to cancel, that's what customer service said. This is outrageous even from Telus

Late last year Rogers notified us that our monthly GB allotment was being reduced to 25 GB, effective early 2010. (I believe it was 50-60) Over the holidays my son visited and downloaded a huge amount of data. My next bill was $97.50 on top of the monthly fee. I was looking over my bill last night (something I recommend consumers do often) and went online and discovered that any usage over the allotted GB's could be charged to a maximum of $50 in a billing period. I immediately called Rogers, only to find out that at the time this excessive bill bill, the maximum that could be charged over the monthly fee was $25! I find it difficult to understand how an error of this magnitude can happen in an age of computerized billing. How many people were over charged? It's dishonest. Lisa

For us X-gens that don't use the phone for texting 24 hours a day, the phone service from 7-11 "speakout" is an awesome deal. Free phone and 500 mins for $100 good for 365 days. yea additional mins are .20/min but if you just do short calls, it is a great deal-no contract-and if you lose your phone,no big deal-you are only out a few bucks!

Probably the easiest way not to get locked into absurd plans with the Canadian telcoms is to buy an unlocked phone on eBay and buy a sim from Fido. They do not make you go onto a plan at all. I have 25$ voice plan (100 minutes and weekends & evenings free) and about 25$ (give or take 5) for data... It's also a monthly agreement where I can walk away at any time.

If someone out there knows of something better (especially with no roaming fees in the US) let me know

I live in Edmonton and think it's pretty sad that I actually pay less now using Verizon Wireless roaming in Alberta, then I did on Telus not roaming.

I wonder just how many people complaining here failed to read the fine print in their contracts? I _STILL_ don't have a cell phone. Every time I look at plans I get interested. Every time I listen to a salesperson I can even get excited. Every time I read the details and fine print I get turned off. That is why I still do not have a cell phone.

The only people who seem to be happy are those that stick with the plan they signed up for - meaning that they do NOT exceed the limits imposed in the contract and contract fine print.

Read the fine print before you sign up. Make sure you get a plan suited to your current and future needs. Is it expensive compared to elsewhere in the world? Absolutely! But you can still keep things reasonable, relatively speaking, by doing some very basic reading and research.

Everybody who's angry with the Canadian cell phone industry, you can go to this site ... and sign a petition that argues that the CRTC is nothing but a shell for industry interests.

Aside from that, the best thing we could do is to all agree to boycott one single carrier until they lower their fees. Of course, this won't happen because it takes too much coordination and agreement... but it would certainly be something.

Oh, and the guy with the outrageous cancellation fees DOES deserve credit. Like he said, he signed up for a 2-phone plan for $198/month and was charged over $300 the first month. The bill was impossible to read. They didn't hold up their end of the contract, thus the contract should be void. Thought I don't know how the "contract for your phone, not your plan" works. Sounds ridiculous. How about rent-to-pay for your phone?

Do not buy a smart phone from them on a $40 plan -- it is a scam and you will get a charge of $200 on your bill in a few months -- FACT.

Anyone ever see “Data Service Agreement Price Adjustment” charge of $200 on their bill?

I have a smart phone (BBerry 9000 and up) and want to know what happens if you buy that phone with the regular email package (no data) for $40 from Bell Canada?

Answer: You will get a bill months down the road for $200 for buying a smart phone without a data plan!

Happened to me when I just called support to find out what this charge really is... they told me to upgrade to the $50 plan or they will not remove the charge!

Atta girl Mesley, you rock!

Bell absolutely sucks. So does Rogers, so does Telus, and all the rest of the robbers. Collusion, confusing rate plans, confusing package offers, etc all keep us off kilter and these techniques are things designed into their systems to reap the rewards of many many millions in disputed charges and overcharges, most of which are just simply paid by us to avoid hassles. Sometimes it's just eaasier to pay. The Cellco companies just love this fact and exploit it to their maximum profit.
The only way this issue will get attention to our benefit is for canadian consumers to pay attention to their bills and complain about everything, and to use their services less. Canadians consumers don't like to fight. Cellco's love that too! I have had my own past dealings with these jokers, but they don't give a rats...

I would love to see where this "80% customer satisfaction rate" came from... Bell is a horrible company when it comes to customer service.

I moved to canada with my family from England and signed up with Rogers on a family plan. Biggest financial mistake!
Firstly, there is nowhere that states all mobile phone companies charge for incoming calls! How the hell does the regulator allow them to get away with this, in effect they get paid twice, once from the caller then from the reciever.
In England the average monthly plan would be 15 pounds (approx $25 CAD) and here it is over 4 times that cost. How can this be legal?
Secondly I have read horror stories whereby customers have to pay to get out of their plan, costs running into $400-$600 dollars. Something needs to be done to show these companies that they cannot expect this kind of monopoly over its customers. I for one would gladly stand up against this and think all mobile phone consumers should do the same.

Hope Steve gets full credit... All companies are charging WAY TOO MUCH....Why not a law?We pay for the gouvernment so why cant they help us? Everyone knows they charge too much....well, everyone but the companies

Most cellphone companies work in a more communal sense than this video portrays: these people have cellphone bills which in the end were never truly proven to have been incorrect. I've heard of cell bill credits (with legit usage, or at least the people can't be proven to not have been misinformed) in the $xxx,xxx.xx range from some carriers (Cause it's unreasonable to expect one person to pay for that). Now you and everyone else on your carrier is compensating for that person.

Same goes for plans: you may have a high plan and not use it, but there's someone else on the same one using the hell out of it for the same cost. You use 100 minutes a month, they use 5,000. You're paying the same cause you may agree to pay $50 a month, but that other guy won't agree to pay $100 on his own.

I have a mobile internet account with SaskTel and they seem to think I used enough MB of data to charge me over $5000 for Jan. to the beginning of Feb but for part of that time my computer was out of commission (I can't get the battery to charge) and on top of that for the rest of Feb they want to charge me another $2000 when I can't get on my computer! I was told my one bill was going to be adjusted but it never was.

I have not been able to view this video. Is my ISP blocking access to this Story?

It was interesting to note that the responses from the cell-phone carriers, all included a marketing pitch and that they never really answered the question as to why they were so high.

The telus dude's bill is somewhat legit...how can you expect a company to subsidize a phone for you, and then have you cancel early without charging you a cancellation fee...I think he should be credited the erronous amounts and be given maybe a bit of extra credit for the inconvenience...but letting him walk away from his contract is absurd. People expect too much out of these cellphone companies...they ARE a business, and a bussiness should be accountable to shareholders too, not just their customers! As a shareholder I would be fuming if I knew the company was losing money subsidizing phones to customers, and allowing them to walk away from their contracts without having to pay the cancellation fees to cover the cost of subiziding the cell phones. If you don't like contracts then buy the phone outright and go month to month.

I have a phone with a cord and a very small monthly bill. It is very cost effective . I like my phone bill.

Why isn't any one using Koodo??

My flat rate per month is $15.00 plus tax. I do not pay for incoming calls or text.

I have unlimited calls per month for outgoing and ingoing

Go to Futrure shop for the deal

Rogers BTW messed me up for a while credit wise.

I had thm for 3 years and got into the contract 2 weeks before I broke my leg. I could not call out inside my home. I was in a wheelchair and lived alone. Not good

when 3 years were up and my contract up they kept on charging me and when I wanted out they wanted $200 and refused to pay it. They cancelled me but sent me to collection. I paid it 1 year later cause I couldn't get another company, """RIP OFF"""

Best way to avoid the crazy phone fees and plans is to go get a Speakout phone from 7-11. Yeah, I know, 7-11 you say?
No plan needed, they don't even get your personal information. When needed, you buy minutes, and use them. And no, you don't lose unused minutes at the end of the month, the minutes are good for 365 days!
The only thing you must remember is to NOT talk for hours on your cel phone. Their system is setup for people who need it for emergencies, or to do quick calls or texting. The minutes are more expensive, sure, but if you need to talk for hours on your cell, then stick with the crappy plans and contracts and all that I guess.
No, I don't work for 7-11, but it seems to be cell phone's best kept secret. I bought mine a year ago, and have paid a total of $60 for the phone, and $75 in minutes. Better than $100 or more a month.

The big three are just ripping people off.
As a university student,got a blackberry phone with Long distance added to it so when i go back to Hamilton ièll be fine using my phone but no during christmas 2009,somehow my long distance plan is only good for outgoing calls but incoming calls i'm charged crazy.I was charged $312 in jan,as a student i cant fork this out and called customer service,best they could do was give me $47 credit which sucks.
I have paid $1822 since getting my phone in Sept 2008 up to jan,which i havent paid my phone bill fully for that month and being suspended now.
I have another 17 months and i cant believe those ... make a ridiculos amount off average canadians.

I think that as consumers we need to definitely be smarter, but when the company is already known as a company that will do whatever it needs to do in order to take their customers for a ride, we need to actually stand up for ourselves. In an earlier post, someone mentioned " in fact as a Sales rep with Bell mobility I get approximately a $4.50 commission on an Activation," $4.50 x (let's say) 20 activations a day is $90.00 x 5 days a week is $450 plus salary. $450 is quite close to what all these "great" companies charge us to cancel a contract/service when what they SAID they were selling us & what we ACTUALLY get charged for are not the same!!! I have been dealing with Rogers since October 2009. I have been told a manager will call me, hung up on, told that I threatened a coworker & he would call the police & that there was nothing they could do because they have been very generous!!

Regardless of the argument that people don't understand their contracts before signing them the fact remains that cell service costs too much in Canada- period. Even if one does understand what they are signing they don't want to sign it because they know we are paying more than most other countries. Also some of us must have a cell phone as our livelyhoods depend on them. So we do not always have it as a choice luxury item that we can simply choose to forego.

I worked for telus, In a secret department called COS. We have to sign a form saying we would discuss our department with any other telus departments or our friends and family

Cos handles 411 and other services for all the other cell phone companies as well as land line providers.

when a call came in we could see the provider info and had a different script for each one. we provided service for rogers, mts, bell,american companies EVERYONE

a lot of times customers who say how much better the services was at (insert whatever company they used)then telus. I think those customers would be pretty upset to know there cell phone or phone provider is being out sourced to Telus

Do you have a mailing list for topics on your weekly tv show? I don't really have time for more auto feeds, but I would make time for this one...

Julia P. who works for the cell phone company. You say that you can't stand and the whinning and bi#@$### from everyone you talk to. IS EVERYONE WRONG OR ARE THE CELL PHONE COMPANY PRACTISES WRONG? Gee I wonder

It is ridiculous that in Canada none of the cell phone companies have free incoming. It has unlimited incoming but not free. This really frustrates me as I have to pay for an incoming call. When I knew that Wind mobile was coming I thought mabey it would have changes and it does but not as significant. Logically it does not make sense to pay for an incoming call, I am being ripped of to pay for that service. When will the cellphone industry change in Canada, as it has in 80% of the world? Canada is an advanced country so why stay behind in the cellphone industry? Bring a change in the companies, I really want to have free incoming so I am not being scammed by the cell phone providers.

Here are some things which help put the subject in context.

First, it's important to remember that Fido is a subsidiary of Rogers, as Solo and Virgin are of Bell, and Koodo is of Telus. Looking at phone and plan offerings from these companies shows why it's important to remember this. Technologically, any phone available from Bell, Rogers, or Telus can be used with their subsidiaries running on the same network. They enforce a dichotomy of Good Phone+Bad Plan against Bad Phone+Good Plan for their own gain.

Furthermore, cell phone contracts are a form of money lending, and the carriers are the lenders. If you want to avoid the woes of cell phone carriers, take out the loan to cover your phone from some other entity -- like a bank.

This is all in addition to the cost disparities they covered in the story.

Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere MLK

Be the change you want to see in this world MKG

You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it AE

It look like the majoriy agree that its not right to charge people insane bills. These people show compassion understanding and love

On the other hand the minor must not live pay cheq to cheq. Let trying using their logic. Your grandmother just brought a really expensive vacuum cleaner from a really great sales person or she answer the phone and a nice person talk her into sending some money to get a really big prize. I guess she should have been more aware. Always walk a mile in another shoe before you judge

Now for the BIG BULLIES lets give them a taste of their own medicine. The only way to beat a Bully is to hit them below the belt and really hard. Google/YouTube: Mary Croft Robert Menard John harris David Icke

I too, am fighting an unjustafiable telus mobility bill and have been for a year with NO satisfactory response. What do I have to do to get a solution from Telus? I am trying to pay off the balance but each month another $400.00 is added to my existing account. Telus will not cancel the account until the balance is paid . PLEASE HELP me find a workable solution. KV

"Exactly why I don't have a cellphone. These companies should be fined by the government every time they make a mistake. Let's start at $10,000 per mistake. -Martin"

Excellent plan!! After all bell employes human beings who are going to make mistakes and I bet your a human being as well. So let's fine you 10,000 everytime you make a mistake.

When ever I travel to INDIA Its dirt cheap there in the east asia side of the WORLD. They offer free local incoming calls and the free international incoming calls . Its strange the country is in the process of growing and the big companies from around the world are flocking in and try to offer free stuff . Plus all the new MODELS of companies launching Phones are introduced in that part of the WORLD.
Imagine have you heard the phone with a 2 SIM cards.This was 2years back.

We in CANADA get the last of the stock of the phones from the big 2 when you sign a term .

Rate plans must be complicated for sales reps too - who often mislead the customer. I received multiple interpretations of one single Bell wireless plan from different reps. I suggest talking to a rep instore, on the phone and looking online to make sure the features you want match b/c reps love a sale.

I was told instore that only new contracts can add a fun bundle. Yet, Bell's website said this is not true so long as I already have a bell phone I am using.

I then was told in chat (which i printed) with an online rep, that my phone model qualifies for the fun15 bundle. I agreed to add it to my plan. Over the next 2 weeks I wondered why it wasn't activated. After many calls and stories on Bell's part, one phone rep told me my phone couldn't qualify for the plan. All this while I had a written contradictory statement from an online rep who charged me. I ended up with the fun10.

Lawmakers need to clean this mess up. The gentlemen's agreement between the cellphone carriers in this country is appalling.

Hi I'm sorry i didn't know about yr show earlier,I have the worst and most dumbest cell bill I have never signed a contract ever but i know i had txt but they say only on 1 why would anyone have 3 cell and only txt 1 and they say i made long distance but i have a calling card and they still charge me full price my bill for 4yrs was $180.-$220. always i add internet-$47.and home phone-$23.but my bill went from say $220.-$450.-$500.for a $70.add on so i cancel it to go back to a bill thats lower hopefully but no now my first bill was still over $500.monthly and if you think you can get anyone to explain anything to you about yr bill its like talking to a wall also i ask for them to send me a detailed bill i haven't seen one in months

Economic slave to these life sucking companies.
Rogers cut off my cell. due to 2 months non payment. I tried to lower my plan as I have one of the most expensive plans. They said no. I must have an active phone to do this. I ask them to activate my cell so I can do this. They said no. Now here I am months later being forced to pay for a service I have no access too. The bill is just getting bigger and bigger and i don't have use of that service. they are charging me for a service I have no access to. They wont even let me down grade my plan to give me a fighting chance to catch up. Now my bill is over $1000 and growing every month. It's unlikely to ever get paid. But no worries for Rogers. They are happy to sell my blood debt to a collection agency for 60-80% of what Rogers clams is owed to them. Isn't Rogers actions illegal??

There is no true competition, there is only collusion. Look how Bell describes their US roaming charges as competitive with other Canadian carriers! Thanks for Prof. Keshav for discrediting those ... companies. Canadian "cell" (not true "mobile") phone business is a big ripoff. It is called "cell" because it resembles a prison cell where you are locked to the small ~30x30 km area you live in; go outside that and you start "roaming" which internationally means using your phone in a completely different country, not by going to Toronto from London or K-W,ON! The costs are outrageous UNLESS you subscribe to some "plan" and later try to cancel so they can put you on a cheaper "retention" plan! One can understand coverage problems based on the vast Canadian geography, but I have never heard of worse billing techniques.

Two months ago my track ball stopped working on my blackberry curve. They told me that if my phone was water damaged then they would not cover the warantee if the water effected the track ball.
THe bill would be 549.99 if there was water damage. I assured them I had never ever exposed the phone to water. Obviously I would know if i had.
so low and behold I get a bill for 250 bucks and they will NOT return my old phone. said its water damaged and that sweat or humidity could cause the water strip to change colour. BULLSH*T the tech himself told me that that is impossible for that to do. So I called blackberry tech. they also told me the track ball is irrelevant to water damage and there is nothing they could do. So I am cancelling my contract and telling everyone to stay away from rogers. My bf has virgin and they are really great to deal with!

...

The cell phone business are "cash cows" for all
the big operators. It has been researched, documented
and presented by many economists and universities that
Canaidians are paying the most worldwide to use cell
phones.

And look at the price of gas; it's falling every where
else in NA and yet Canadians are still paying the most!

Do you really think the goverment will do anything to
hurt their cash cows!

You want to send a message; start giving up your cell
phones; drive less. When you hurt their pockets...you
will see changes, I assure you.

Later...

I had similar experience with Bell, a very poorly run company that's too well protected by the government to go out of business.

@keith vincent: if you are from toronto and you use your phone in vancouver, for example, whatever made you think ld would not be applicable when you answered a call?

Sorry, but $6g is nothing. I have a nearly $10k Telus wireless bill after the rep made a mistake about the unlimited data plan for my aircards, she promised to fix it, and didn't, I still have the contract, Telus doesn't care. I e-mailed them and they accidentally sent me an internal e-mail saying I should have gotten a credit, but still won't call off the collection agencies. When I call them to talk about it, all they say is "What makes you think you don't have to pay your debts?" like that is even remotely the issue.

Because of that I'm unable to secure credit and will be forced to pay higher mortgage rates than I otherwise would (won't be able to switch banks for a better rate). Unfortunately the best strategy right now is to just wait for it to fall off my report in a few years. It's either that or drop out of school.

You want an insane bill, take a look over here.

I agree with many of the views expressed on this feed. Although individuals receive large bills in error, human or technical, a vast majority of bills are caused by the ignorance and misunderstanding of the consumer.

I would thoroughly encourage every parent, child, adult, and owner of a cell phone to review what service agreement you agreed to. If you sign up for premium messages you will get charge, if you use data you will get charged, if you leave your calling area or go to another country, you will get charged. Understand you limits and charges for the type of usage you are conducting.

The REAL problem here is that there is hardly any competition. Hopefully that will change with new foreign ownership rules but I would say that none of the companies are all that much better than each other.

I did leave Rogers and have been happy with Telus so far but the truth is that there is no real incentive for them to treat customers better.

But at some people have mentioned... our industry is well behind the times of what is happening in Europe and other parts of the world... Europe regulated roaming charges two years ago and I believe just regulated data roaming fees recently.

Real change will not happen unless Canadians put real pressure on the Government.

h

I had heart palpatations while watching this episode. I felt so alone, what did I do wrong, I thought I was doing a good thing by getting on a family plan and have one bill, not two or three and the world would be good! NOT EVEN CLOSE. These companies have got us 200% and we can't do a thing about it. I have 3 cell phones still till 2011 and have not had service for over 7 months and before that maybe 20 days a month before they cut us off. It doesnt matter how much you complain, they are not interested. I did get some relief when I called the Better Business Bureau and they did credit back almost $1000(shows you how much they screwed me, but they call at least 3-4x a day every day/seven days a week. They are relentless..... I wish something could be done to stop them. This contract cannot be gotten out of. You can't make changes to get rid of features, until you pay it all.

Ms. Mesley really doesn't do anything here except prove that an investigative reporter can spend their days searching an entire country and find a handful of people who either misunderstood the plan they were buying or were not billed properly. I'm sure the same thing could be done for every major industry. It's such a weak argument to take a few horror stories and spin it to be the norm. If Ms. Mesley really wanted to prove a point, she would have changed the title to "Canada's Average Cellphone Bill"... although then she'd have no story, because on average phone bills are nearly as high as those profiled in this segment. Keep telling us the sky is falling, Wendy!

First if all for all of you who think that it is the sales reps fault that your bill is so high or for the issues that you feel are created at the store level. 99% of the time you are incorrect, in fact as a Sales rep with Bell mobility I get approximately a $4.50 commission on an Activation, so Mr. john mcdonald, you are dead wrong. Don't you think that it makes more sense for me to tell you the truth up front about your cell phone as to assure you of what you are getting so you do not come back to yell at me. Surely you don’t think that this process of upsetting the client and being harassed and treated like dirt is fun. Please research what you are saying prior to voicing your ignorant opinion first.

I am not surprised by the number of people who complain about their cell phone bill and provider. While there are a few legitimate cases where customer service has slipped (and don't for a second think its just cell phone companies, every business in every field is guilty of it)the majority of complaints is lack of common sense by the user. BUYER BEWARE. Read the contract when you sign it. I used to sell cell phones and 90% of my customers did not read the contract even after telling them point blank to read it before they sign it! Ignorance is not an excuse!

I hate hate hate Bell Canada. Whenever there was an issue with my bill (often), you can NEVER get a hold of anyone. But THERE IS A WAY TO PAY LESS FOR YOU CELL PHONE... add an unlimited outgoing calls to your current plan with companies like Diallog Telecommunications (Xcell Mobile), Telehop (Unlimited Mobile Talk), or Comwave (Unlimited Mobile Phone). You'll still be with Bell, but you'll pay them a LOT LESS.

Exactly why I don't have a cellphone. These companies should be fined by the government every time they make a mistake. Let's start at $10,000 per mistake.

A couple of horrid cell phone bill stories.
I bought a phone and got a plan from Rogers, and a few months later, needed to change the address the bill was sent to and the mailing address. After changing the address, I didn't get a bill for two months, then received a bill which stated I only owned 5c. I repeatedly phoned customer service to ask what had happened, and nobody knew. two months later, I received a bill for over 200. After my mom threatened to end the contract, the credited me, but it took like, 3 months. Second story - my new phone is with Fido, and because I live so close to the border, 50% of the time my phone is picking up a US signal. Rarely do I ever get notified that my phone has changed networks, (even when I'm actually IN the states) and I've been charged roaming without even knowing it.

Copy paste this to a folder;
Before I get going on my rant,,, if it has gone to a collection service, neither TELUS nor Rogers will take you to court, if the collection service tells you this, it's a lie. The collection service that buys the debt from those two mentioned also run equifax, or better yet, are the people who adjust your credit. If you settle at any percentage of the bill ask for the settlement to be sent to you in writing as "CLOSED", if not you will be called after 1 year to settle on the rest of the "settled" bill, in other words, you settle at 60% and a year later you'll get the calls from collection for an outstanding 40% plus compounded interest.

I just found out that my contract "DID" end in February of 2009 but was told then that it was 2010 because an upgrade had bumped up the termination date. Then I found out that I was misinformed and to mmake things work,,

I do agree with posters here that prepaid rates are higher but there are some definite advantages to using prepaid.
The company can never take you for more than you have actually loaded no matter what.
Long distance should never be made on a prepaid phone directly. The loss of a few minutes to access a 3 cent per minute prepaid long distance card is worth the savings in the long run.
Until there is a universal calling area world wide one should never use one country's service across any border. Many other countries' prepaid service is much easier and cheaper. For instance, Talk Mobile, a UK company, charges 4p per minute to call Canada or the US while it charges 15p to call within the UK.
Leave service active with a low balance before porting your number to another carrier if rates there are more attractive.
My monthly bill averages below $25. So can yours!

the sales ppl are at fault in my view, they lie just to get the fat commissions, second are the totally ignorant customer service reps, i am with rogers and bell, rogers told me i had the best plan and a good phone, i probably do but rogers does not have any towers between barrie and kenora ontario,i drive truck and need to phone, the sales guy told me i needed a rocket stick and almost sold me one untill i crossed the hall in mall to bell who told me it was basically a cell phone and would need towers. hmm im 60 yrs old i should have known that
so i need ed a fone for the new company i worked for so bell with all thier towers was the answer.the sales ppl knew me and my predicament well and sold me the "plan" and the phone, trouble is the phone doesnt work from sault st marie to the alberta border
hspca or somthing i was told and doesnt work there its new technology, off to mall now

I believe that there are some people on this page who have legitimately been wronged by their provider and been overbilled or underserviced. There are also a LOT of people who have not taken the time to understand their contract, used their phone excessively, and received a hefty bill as a result.

There's a simple message here. Cell phones aren't free. If you sign up for one you should be aware of what you're signing up for and be prepared to pay the cost.

You think the customers are being ripped off? Try being an employee and seeing it first hand. Also the employee's get ripped off just as nicely. Were constantly under pressure to meet or exceed sales targets and if we do not they threaten to fire us. They cut our bonuses, our salary, our rebates all with the same excuse that "the economy is doing badly" which is a load of manure. The economy is recovering and the cell phone industry didnt seem affected by it very badly. If we want a new phone we must PAY full price for it.... and we have to deal with andgry customers we KNOW and AGREE are being ripped off... but can do very little to help them. If MarketPlace wants to add some to the story why not get it from inside with some of the front line employees, id be more than willing provided my identity is not disclosed.... they fire us for everything. Bottom line money.

I am with telus being a business person I always had numbers in my head about the markup of these companies. It is alot higher then i thought if the guy on the show is even remotely accurate! Every time I have had a problem with my bill all i have done is called telus, complained and it is removed from my bill. That being said, i also had a phone with koodo and nearly walked into the store to throw the phone at the service rep. I had been charged several fees i didnt even authorize, then i cancelled. That cost 300$.

With telus if you complain enough, i find there not bad with helping you.

Amanda , Did you really talk on the cell phone for 4 (four) hours....
well that's why our bills are so high...

I left Rogers thinking that I could get a better deal at Fido. My monthly bills with Rogers were in excess of 140$ per month and I was with them for a number of years, exceeding 3 actually. When I left, they claimed I was still under contract and charged me a $200+ cancellation fee. When I joined Fido, I was told by their representative that I could call anywhere in Canada in Canada and I was covered. I went to Edmonton from Vancouver for a couple weeks and came back to a 500$ bill. I was upset so I called them and at the end of the call, the Customer Service rep was yelling at me on the phone. For an additional $20 in my fees, I could have been on a package that would have eliminated those fees. I got another cell bill for $500 again this month and they once again refused to explain nor try to accommodate me. Fido is the worst company and I am abandoning them in favour of skype...

Story like this, make me glad that I do not own a cellphone. With that said, people should really pay attention to what they are signing up for. Using cellphone to make long distance call or using your cellphone oversea is the dumbest thing to do. Just buy a disposible phone at wherever you are and use that or as someone else mention use the local sim card with an unlock phone. If not Stupidity will slap you with a big bill.

I ended up getting my credit fixed but I had to speak with an ombudsman for them to see that it clearly made no sense that I would open an account with no phone or phone number! The explanation I got was that it was a confusion between fido and rogers systems!

So my advice to anyone is not to EVER do any business with Rogers OR Fido! You'll be much better off that way!

Go to the new phone company (WIND!) they have GREAT plans and from what I can tell so far, they have GREAT customer service! Just be careful when roaming out of their local areas!

Another story (it wouldn't fit in the first blurb) I after this switched to Fido (which at the time was not owned by Rogers!) now recently (about 2 months ago) they decided to create a new account under my name with no plan or phone number on it and sign it up for a 24 month contract and at the same time charge me for 2 cancellation fees on this account. They NEVER sent me a notice in the mail, they NEVER tried to call me or inform me in any way. In fact, what they did was send it off to a collection agency and proceeded to ruin my credit, sending my credit card interest rate skyrocketing! I even had my citibank mastercard canceled because of it! (it was subsequently reopened) anyways, I called them to give them a piece of my mind and they told me I was wrong and that I would simply have to deal with my bad/ruined credit which was otherwise pristine!

Okay, I watch my usage like a hawk but have also received some HORRID bills. Once, (when I was with ROGERS) I went away for a WHOLE 5 weeks and left my cellphone in a drawer. When I got back, there was a bill waiting for me in the mail. The bill was normal except for at the bottom under "Other charges and credits" there was a charge for 1500 dollars!!!! I called the company and they told me that it was USAGE! After explaining to the extremely dense representative that it simply must be wrong, they blatantly called me a liar! There were NO details on this charge and I found it extremely odd that I had used EXACTLY 1500 dollars worth of calling! (You'd think if anything it would be something less exact!)

Anyways, they ended up finding out that it was a system error... and credited me! How insane!?

I am appalled at the whining I heard here. I am actually a Customer Service employee for one of the cell phone companies named here, and I cannot tell you how much whining, yelling, nagging, and downright ABUSE I put up with on an HOURLY basis.

TIP: Know your plan! Know what you're signing up for! Employees are only human, they do sometimes make mistakes. But consider that it could be your own ignorance of the cell phone industry that causes your misunderstandings.

Wether it be Bell, Rogers, Fido, Telus, or any other provider to come into CANADA, the fact of the matter remains that people will always have something to complain about.
These companies dont refund and discount at the drop of a hat due to majority of people wanting everything for next to nothing.
I see it happen every day.
Parents buying blackberry's and Iphone's for their irresponsible teens and pre-teens; only to come back into store the next month to bitch and moan about the ridiculous bill.
Monitor your usage, subscribe to a plan that actually suits your lifestyle and needs, and take the time to go over the plan your signing a contract for before rushing out of the store.
Maybe next time CBC Marketplace could put cameras up in these stores and take a look at the clients....then perhaps these horror billing stories will be put into perspective.

Dealing with the terrible service from Rogers and Bell is probably a lot like living in the surreal world of Soviet Russia and dealing with the KGB.

Rogers/many cell companies rip off Canadian consumers royal... "oh, we hardly make any profit at all" is their mantra. In reality the 5000% profit on kb transit/text messaging/data/voice is probably conservative considering the virtually unlimited amounts of data via an Internet connection for one monthly fee.

Travel abroad? - TURN your PHONE OFF and download Skype/VOIP which makes phone calls via wifi for .01/.02 per minute.

For further proof this is all about $$$ you'll notice Skype is contractually limited to providing service over wifi and cannot use wireless (i.e. 3g/GSM) to transfer the same data) Rogers and the like don't want this because it means bye bye gouging.

But of course many cell companies will charge you separately for "voice" and "data" and restrict VOIP services. Data is data - there is no difference!

Unless you want to gouge by creating arbitrary distinctions

I recently paid Rogers' Wireless $800+ of phone bills. I do not have a land line so I use my cell to call my friends & relatives overseas. While I know I am responsible for the calls I make on my cell, I find phone companies in Canada set their rates way too high. Before my husband changed his plan, his monthly payments on his cell phone bill were equal to a car payment. One other thing I recently experienced, I text my cousin who moved from Ohio to Louisiana. I sent a txt to 2 phone #s on my address book. Rogers sent my txt to a landline voicemail & in return Rogers's sent me a total of 4 txt messages advising me in french & english that they forwarded my txt to a landline voice messaging. The cost for each txt Rogers sent me was $0.15. I didn't asked to be notified but Rogers' took initiative & charged me something I didn't ask for. If CRTC can do something, I hope they act soon.

hi i've been a customer of telus for a year now and they treat me very well i pay only 57$ a month for my iphone 3g s on a three year contract

Go Telus G

Ok here is my piece, all you whining snivelling people who complain and complain about poor me the cell company ripped me off. NO ONE forces you to get and cell phone lease of all use it for anything other than emergencies. You have every right to choose a small plan and not rack up huge bills. These companies are in the business of making money don't forget. You have no problem paying $40 or $50 thousand for a car I don't hear anyone b---hing about that. And who said cell companies were babysitters, if your kids rack up bills then be real parents and take the damn phone away from them.

My daughter deals with Koodo mobile and has very large bills ($300/month) and this was supposed to save her money. She doesn't know why they are so high and when she calls Koodo she is told it will cost her $10. to talk to a customer service rep!!!

Reading through some of the complaints and comments that are made here, all I have to say is that it's your own fault. If you have high text messaging charges, late fees, overages due to roaming in a different country, it's your own fault that you do not do your research before using your phone. It is the consumer's responsibility to ensure that they know what they have and what they're paying for.

Man i think im the only one that has never had a problem with a cell phone company. I have been with Rogers for 5 years and i have never had a single major problem with them, actually if anything they treat me well and i even get free stuff from time to time since i have been with them for so long. I guess if you pay your bill ontime every month, you wont have problems.

Whine all you want about the poor treatment you get from Canadian cellphone companies but the they are not the villain of the piece. The real culprit is the CRTC which restricts competition and, through lax regulation, permits the cartel of Canadian carriers to charge the exorbitant rates they do.

Why don't people use unlocked phones with local SIMs when they travel overseas? If you decide to play with your locked Rogers/Bell/Telus iPhone while outside Canada and get dinged with massive roaming fees, you deserve what you get.

Ignorance should not be an excuse. The gouging will only stop when people actually wise up and do things (like avoiding contracts, buying unlocked and unsubsidized phones, avoiding roaming with local SIMs, etc.) that actually reduce the price of using a cellphone.

I was pretty disappointed with the Canada's Worst Cellphone bill show. You just had a bunch of people complaining about charges on their bill. People should understand their cellphone plans - ask lots of questions. And what's with the showing of the company's costs and their total revenues. Cellphone companies aren't charities. Your cost calculations probably didn't include the salaries of everyone that works at the companies, or advertising, or system maintenance. I think cellphone bills are way too high in Canada, but unless we get more competition or shrink the geographic size of the country, it's not going to change. This episode just sounded like a lot of complaining. And as much fun as it is to complain (love it!), I expected Marketplace to be less tabloid and more journalism. Although it's always great to see Wendy stick it to the man, haha.

I forgot to mention the Telus incidents. The reason I will never go on another plan is because I went on one when I bought my first cell phone. My bill wasn’t too bad $154.54. I had 2 weeks to pay it off & so I called Telus to see if I could pay half that same day & the other half when the bill was due. Sounds fair enough after all I was going to have it paid off in time. For some still unknown reason, they immediately disconnected my phone & my bill went from $154.54 to $1168.88! When asked they stated that my bill was past due so they terminated my contract & I was to pay for the cancellation fee. I told them that if they wanted their money they were more then welcome to come to my door & collect it, if they felt they were brave enough. It’s been over 10 years & I have yet to hear from them about this matter.

Have you ever heard of someone‘s pay-as-you-go account being overdraft? With Solo, mine was every month. Features were added all the time with no authorization from me, their site never worked leaving you no choice but to call them where they charged you $3.00 for making said call. I finally had enough & dropped Solo. This was well over a year ago & I am still receiving letters & e-mails reminding me to top up my account. I finally e-mailed them back with this message…“This is just getting old. How much of an IQ does one need to work for you? Due to the lack of intelligence & over abundance of ignorance I have dealt with so many times from so many Solo employees I will no longer give Solo any chance to rip me off again, there for I am longer a Solo customer. I prefer a company where everyone smarter then a skittle unlike everyone at Solo. Now you guys have a wonderful day :) Don't forget to take your macaroni art home for your mom to display on the fridge.” They haven’t tried to contact me since.

I thought our cell phone bill was bad, but wow! These poor people on the show. You need a lawyer and television crew at your side to get a fair deal from these bullies. Where is our federal government on this issue? Write to your MP to find out.

I am not surprised that Bell came out on top as Canada's Worst. I live in Labrador and Bell is my only option for cell service. My sister and I and two teenage kids are on a plan in which we thought included unlimited texting. However, the past two months we are after paying approx $1500 in fees due to what they told us was going over the texting limit. I have no respect left for the company. I feel bad for other people who are left with such high bills. Thanks for doing the media coverage on Bell. Hopefully this will stop the over charging and ``misunderstanding`` as they call it in monthly plans.

Keep up the good work Market Place.

i'm sorry but if you guys think the carriers are charging too much for your monthly cost, then why have a cell phone? i dont drive because i know gas is expensive so i take the bus. if i dont like how much i get charged monthly on my cell then i cancel and go back to my landline or use a pay phone. nobody is forcing you to have a cell phone. just like nobody forces you to drive or buy expensive clothes.

to Rose Tzanis, how is it your carriers fault that your daughter texted those premium msgs and her friends in the states?

people(especially grown ups) need to take responsibility for themselves. parents need to take responsibility for their kids.

I've had a cell phone for about 5-6 years now. I actually have not had a "horror story" about a cell bill. The reason for this is I read every word of a contract. Not just regarding cell phones, anything I sign my name to I read in it's entirety. I understand what the sales people may tell you has no meaning whatsoever. If it is not written in the contract plain and simple it's a bunch of BS. I complain almost constantly, I call them or write e-mails about every little thing they screw up on. I simply don't take no for an answer. If they made a mistake they are going to fix it or I will find out who managers are and start writing e-mails. Honestly, it's unfortunate that I have to be a complete pain in the a-- to get decent service but I will not let these companies screw me.

Make sure to read everything and never take their word.

...contd .... He reasons out that ... the store rep, has to do something like, becoz sales don't come in easy and he has to keep his job or else he will get fired for not meeting his sales targets. The Rep at the store or in the call centre are constantly pressured to meet sales targets and finish the call as quick as possible.If you are a kind of a rep, who likes to genuinely help customers, then your job will not remain for long. They will fire you since you are considered as taking too long on the call and not meeting sales targets. The ones that grow in the company are the ones that make high sales, talk less to the customer and has to have a mentality that the customer is full of lies and that the companies’ billing system and policies are completely flawless and perfect. All that the cell phone companies(BELL,ROGERS,TELUS) want is high sales and superficial customer service skills

I have a friend who works for Bell Mobility. He tells me many stories of the kind of calls that he takes and the kind of pressure that they constantly undergo. He is a kind of a guy who feels sorry for customers at seeing them ripped, because of some wrong information given to them by customer service representative or some of the shady reps at the store. He tells me that many times people go to the store to get an upgrade done on their cellphoneline and end up getting a new phone with a new line. So now they have 2 lines, that they have to pay for, instead of having just one, and if the old cell line is still in a contract, then they have to pay a penalty to cancel. He says that this happens because the crooked representative at that store wants to make a commission on the new activation. ...contd.....

Were with Telus since Sept 2 1993. We canceled them at the end of our last contact June 2, 2009. They very badly wanted us to stay, but due to very bad experiences with them on our cell bills as well as our home phone we have moved both services.

Our children have moved their services from Telus as well.

Maybe this is part of the reason Telus is down 49% lately in their profits. It seems they have no use for customer service.

In the Philippines, Taiwan, Asian country. When you buy cellphone, it is SIM compatible. And it is with caller ID display, no gov't. fees, no service charge, no GSTax. When you are in Pay As You Go service, you receive text, call (local & international Incoming) for FREE. If you use phone card to make International Outgoing call,you wont be charge by Phone Service. In Canada, everything is ripped off! Everything has a fee. There is a price for everything, text (receive & incoming) call (local or international, long distance), caller ID, service fee, gov't fee(but the gov't dont care about consumers complain)

I get a kick out of people b---hing about their cell plans and rates and billing.
Do people not realize these providers in Canada charge almost more than anyone anywhere?
They’re all the greediest bunch of SOB’s around!
Fortunately, I don’t need a cell phone.
I do sponsor my grandson’s cell since he’s a minor, and he’s with KOODO, apparently a Telus subsidiary?
These KOODO guys like putting small ‘late fee’ charges on their bills. I pay online through my credit union on the due date, like I do with about 20 other places.
Have done this for years.
And after even checking my bank statements and seeing the funds were cleared on that KOODO due date, KOODO says I should pay 2-3 days before the bill’s due date, “to ensure it reaches them on time”.
Can you believe that BS?
After I told them this on email after 3-4 months of late fee charges, they stopped doing it.
Creeps.

My son Edgar was charged 12,000 dollars, by Fido in a period of 7 months on 2007, although he tried to fix this problem they keep charging him. We are low income people, my son paid the debt in 2 years painfully, never again to have another cell phone in CANADA BECAUSE ANY OTHER COUNTRY THE CELLS CHARGES ARE FAIRER. FIDO for me represent the worst of these companies. We were grieving 2 deaths in our family so we did not took them to the Courts, but they are greedy ...! I am glad CBC is doing something I hope the government do something about it. Thank you yes, more than 12,000 thousand dollars I think this is the worst cellphone bill. My son is in China now teaching english, but the bills are a reminder of the frustration we felt at that time, and obviously they keep doing it... Who is going to stop these greedy companies??? You are doing a great job!!

Just caught your story on TV !
BELL had a 'hold' on my wallet for 4 years while our children were at Bible School in Vancouver. We were on what they called a 'Family Plan'...which supposedly allowed our kids to phone us...and we could also call them, long distance free. This was never the case, as the cell phone bills started to be inflated by 50-70 dollars per month--to the point where they became between $500 to $700 per month. I'd have to call them EACH month, and straighten out their double billing of which they would claim someone else was calling our kids exactly the same time we'd call--and for the same length of time. They then quit sending outthe itemized statements, so I couldn't prove calling time, length of call, etc...
BELL will never get my return business.
I can honestly say, ROGERS has been more than fair, the plans are clear, and I know how I'll be charged each month.

Sorry to say I may have an entirely different view on your cell phone story. Although, I understand and empathize with the people who have issues with their cell phone providers, I feel that our society has become a bunch of cell phone addicts. People use them endlessly and they are so adamant about having them every where they go, the cell phone companies must just sit back and laugh. How many people get ripped off and just pay the charges having no idea of what they pay for as long as they can get their fix. Just like a junkie getting his next fix, he doesn't really care the costs to his life as long as he gets the fix. I do not own a cell phone, have travelled across Canada, and still get through life with less stress than the cell phone junkies I see all around me. If people were not junkies to this new addiction the dealers would not be in the position to rip you off.

Cellphone comapnies 'shaft' their customers w/ poor uncomprehensible responses for customer service, vague contracts, misleading agreements and absurd billing. After I signed w/ Rogers, they changed the plan and told me repeatedly that they had every 'right' to change the plan and that my 'agreement' w/ Rogers has not changed. Now I pay more for the same service that I original signed for. They put a 'professional' customer service rep to 'deal' w/ my case. Basically, she told me I am wrong and I can pay out my penalty (as per my 'agreement') if I am to leave Rogers. I hate this cellphone company. Please tell me which cellphone company is the least of the evil and I will go w/ them. Also, any lawyer that wants to add my case to the millions of unhappy, shafted Rogers cellphone customers: Sign me up!

During my latest conversation with a Bell Mobility customer service representative that "withen the service argreement there is no assurance that Bell will provide an accurate billing statement". What the F! So why then is such a company able, or should be allow to provide direct payment billing options. Godness would I have been in serious financial trouble if I had gotten a BS bill like so many others.

For those thinking that the new carriers or foreign owned carriers will make things better, think again. They will mirror the big 3. Sure, they may offer a bit of a discount but make no mistake, the costs will be about the same per month as the Rogers/Fido, Bell and Telus. Look at Bell. They introduced true unlimited data last year only to cancel it after several months because neither Rogers or Telus had unlimited data on their smartphone plans.

It really boils down to this. The carriers, all of them know they can get away with charging high rates, similar prices to the competition. The bigger problem is that the majority of Canadians rarely complain. They just know how to say "I am sorry".And when they do, they quickly walk away at the first sign of rejection unlike the Americans or Europeans. Besides, our government and the CRTC doesn't really care too much about the rates.

Charging outrageous cancellation fees because of their incompetence is just theft.I would never do business with them again for any reason...

Hi, In my so called Third World Country, Philippines, Cellphone are necessities and I was shocked when I arrived in Canada that not all cellphones are equipped with SIM card. That in Canada if you are in PAY AS YOU GO plan, you cannot receive a TEXT or CALL if you do not have load on your cellphone. And your load will be deducted once you receive a call! And most of all, if you are not happy with their products or service, you have to pay the fine.In the Philippines, if you are not happy with the service of the phone company, just change your SIM card and thats it...You are free from the unhappy service of the Phone provider. You dont have to pay the fine in cancelling the Phone service...I wish there would be a new company who would offer that kind of service where in its pay as you go, but even though you do not have load on your cell, you can still receive a call and text for free.

I sympathize with Jenn on the show. I had the same info when I bought my cell phone. Fab 5 and mobile browsing was free in canada and the US. But after 4 only 4 days in the USA I returned with a $380 bill. After a month of trying Bells elaborate 4 step complaint program, I had NO responses, people were hanging up in my face, or I was put on hold for up to an hour. Finally after 2 months I went to the BBB, and Bell was calling me like crazy but still not helping me, and finally due to the BBB I recieved about 60% of the charges credited, but it took 3 months. Bell is ABSOLUTELY the worst for customer service!

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

-Edmund Burke

These companies have shown that they are lacking integrity when dealing with customers. The actual costs compared to what is charged is enough to make one sick. There is nothing wrong with making a profit for offering a service, that's how businesses work, thrive and are able to re-invest in their company to improve their infrastructure and service. However, these mobile phone companies are taking advantage of us and it's simply wrong. Mobile phones have become an essential service and consumers should be protected by the law. There also should be new laws created to prevent these companies from continuing these unscrupulous billing practices.

I never trust these communication companies. They make you smile while they try to kill you.

I think it's criminal that these companies are ripping their customers off like this. I couldn't believe it when I watched this show.

I have to defend my cell phone company - Rogers - they have been so good to me and my bill is always accurate. My Dad was with Rogers for many years . When he passed away, they suggested I keep his number for a month, have free long distance, and notify anyone I needed to regarding his passing. What companies do that these days? That is the main reason I decided to go with them when I got a cell phone.

Darlene Urban
Raymond,AB

Bravo Wendy for the show. Cellphone costs are ridiculous. Over 2 years ago I was contacted by my cellphone company, Fido. The rep offered me a couples plan for 1000 minutes anywhere in Canada or the US for $60. It sounded good and my boyfriend needed a new contract. We went for it. The first bill was over $500. The reason... the 1000 minutes was supposed to be just between me and my boyfriend. The rep never mentioned that. It took 3 hours and an agreement to change the plan to a more expensive one before the $500 fee was reduced [it wasn't really, just prorated by agreeing to another plan]. I have had a monthly battle with Fido about the bills since. They have charged for the plan plus charged for the calls that were supposed to be covered by that plan. They have done a lot of things. This finally stopped when I threatened to use social networking to let everyone know.

A lot of the issues covered by this show would be avoided if cell phone companies were compelled to provide a contract that exactly described what services are covered by the agreement including all supplemental charges in a standard language at the time of signing. They don't right now.

Its no surprise that companies disagree with the less than $0.10 per transaction actual costs only saying "their rates are competitive", sure since all are gouging equally. Its a free market where you charge what the market will bear, but a free market implies informed consumers, almost impossible for cell customers to become. Then there's the old bait and switch. Text was free until it finally hit a usage threshold, then charges to send came, now to receive and send. But they did learn from the best, Canadian Banks.

Wow don't get me started on what my boyfriend and I have been through with Rogers! Here is what we have gone through:
- approx 20 blackberry pearls in about an 8 month period
- 2 blackberry curves in a 6 month period
- them changing my bill without either of us knowing multiple times
- getting an 1800 dollar phone bill for texting when texting was included in our plan
- had a million dropped calls on my balcony of my apartment building which is on the 10th floor!
- were given the run around many times and were hung up because they didnt wanna help
- told we would get phones for free than charged
- when trying to cancel i was told i was unable to cancel it
- finally ported our numbers to telus
- rogers bill got canceled but was charged 1200 + tax
- got charged for 30 days after my lines were cut off even though it says in the bill if u cant use it they cant charge you

From my previous comment. They also tried to charge me for going over the bandwidth of my downgraded account (which again, I hadn't asked to be downgraded).

The phone call to dispute all of these charges started off with me having to give them my new address (yes, the one they moved me to). The agent told me I would have to pay the $300 or so wrongful charges and then be given them back . I told her I didn't trust a company which made those kinds of mistakes in the first place and that didn't know my address although they switched my service to it. I am so glad that I forsaw problems with this company and took back their right to charge my credit card automatically before any of this nonsense. Bell Canada is rotten on too many fronts.

I sincerely don't think that Bell Canada customer support has a memo system. Either that, or their employees are completely incompetent at using it. One of my former roommates and I have our own stories that force us to that conclusion.

With my story:

They were late setting up my home phone and internet services because there needed to be a new line put in (my 2 week waiting period was apparently not enough for them to check).

When I moves into a basement apartment, the first technician messed up my upstairs neighbours (and landlords) phones. Bell employees argued with me that they couldn't do anything about it for about 7 days before I finally threatened to cancel.

They tried to charge me for the 2nd technician fixing the first one's work, for cancelling (although I cancelled the cancel order and was given a clear for that), for downgrading (I didn't ask to), for...

I received a final bill from Rogers for $7,000.00. I had a "plan" that was for my phone, my daughter's and a friend of hers. Rogers would not let me put the phones at their minimum (so I could catch up the bill) until the bill was paid for. They then sent me a final bill over $7,000.00. I had tried to make a plan with them and they were not interested. How can Rogers charge for the whole time of the contract?

Interesting that Bell came out as the worst, I am waiting for my last bill from them ( around $500 ) to get out of their contract and end my relationship with the gougers.
Keep up the good work with your informative programmes.

Just watching the program now and wow in 2008, the mobile carriers earned an insane $15.9 Billion, doing the math assuming 40 million in Canada, works out to roughly $400 of average profit per year per person in Canada(or $33/month)! That is absolutely ludicrous!!

We've been in a 3 year family-plan contract with Rogers and originally the plan was that we can call each other for free, the phones will be free after 9 pm on weekdays and free all weekends. I got an add-on package for my phone including unlimited text, caller ID, etc. After about 2 and a half years into this plan with more or less consistent bills, I received a bill for over $900. After hours spent on the phone with Rogers claiming that our contract states that the phones are free for only 9 pm on Friday to 7 am Monday, we finally decided to cancel that plan and create a whole new contract. The next months bill was over $1000 because they have incorrectly switched the contract. After another hour on the phone with Rogers, the supervisor suggested that if we renew our contract for another 3 years s, they would waiver the $900 and &1000 bill.

Bell is kidding itself if they believe they have a satisfactory rating of 80%. Bell is horrible.

Marketplace, what happened to the rest of Canada? Or are you only interested in Ontario these days?

Something seriously needs to be done about the whole "water damage" excuse. All cell phone companys are currently hiding behind this excuse. Well some people do drop there phones in the toiler/sink from time to time. I never once came into contact with water. The Bell representative suggested it may have been moisture or condensation from sweat. My phone completely stopped working. At the same time i had 20 months remaining on my contract and could not get out of it unless paying a huge cancelation fine (roughly $20 a month).

Since this has happened to me i have heard of many people experiencing the same problem. The only option is to purchase another new phone a full retail price and place it on our previous contract.

This cant be right! Am i wrong?

Thank

I have a cell bill from hell myself. My samsung omina phone would auto dial and wouldn't hang up. Bell never sent me my bills so i didn't know what was happening until they called me to say i owed 1000$. well know one would help me at bell and most were quite rude about it!
I have been a very good paying person to bell for many many years, you would think that would count for something.
And don't even get me started on the Bell Store and who owns what and who do you go to with trouble with your phone!

Thank you for looking into this legalized extortion. My guess is that the government won't do anything about this or any of the other obvious monopolies that overcharge us (Cable TV, Internet and Petroleum) because they are in the exact same business, taking Canadians for every cent they can get their grubby, greedy little hands on. The average Canadian has no choice when it comes to any of these "services", each one is as bad as the other. I watch the TV commercials of Cell plans in the States and it's like salt being rubbed in the wound, we pay more taxes for less services and less consumer protection.
Maybe our governments should listen to our National Anthem and start Standing on Guard for us!

I was with Wind for a month before I realized how they ripp you off. You see they charge you extra whenever they roam onto another company's network. I'm not travelling though! I'm in Toronto. They charged me over a $100 for calls I made downtown, even though I was on an unlimited plan. All they said was "oh well, we are still new". Not for long with that kind of service. I left them as soon as I could. Make sure this doesn't happen to you.

this show upset me alot, I work in a call center for a cell phone company. And these are things I deal with on a daily basis. From person experance i can provide this info for all. 1) there are dealers out there from all provider that only care about comission. I have even been almost caught by one with my cell phone,beware . 2) read your terms and conditions. 3)Read your bill and call a representative a call if it does not make sense. 4) As I tell anyone who travels outside of Canada, a) you price plan and feature don't work outside of canada. b) without some sort of roaming plan your at the mercy of the carrier where your located.
Good representatives also don't like when your hung up on or treated with disrespect. Because we the ones who clean up the messes. All I can continue to do try to help you the best as i can.

I'm always been a Rogers Pay As You Go customer and I've learned not to goon a plan because of my friend's horror stories of creditors going after them. Some say pay & talk is expensive but 7-11 and Petro Canada uses the Rogers network and a lot cheaper overall. My advice to everyone when shopping for a cell phone plan is be a frugal shopper. If you live in Edmonton, Calgary or GTA, Wind Mobile is offering $150 credit on your cell phone bill+1 month free service. Call your cell phone company's retention line - threaten to quit and they'll give you a deal & don't back down. And yes, there are student discounts with certain companies like Rogers. All the info is in the hundreds forums/websites dedicated to the subject.

$10,700.

I was with rogers for 2 years on a 3 year contract and had to cancel because I was getting charged for someone elses phone because they sent me the other persons bill and argued with me that I was not that person until I showed them a birth certificate. Then I went with bell after paying a cancellation fee and I believe bell has the best service in Canada. They reinbursed me for every mistake they have ever made with no argument and even gave me months free afterwards.

I have had great luck with my cell phone provider they have watched my usage and will call me to set up plans that work for me. Once I got a outrages bill and they cut the bill in half for me and put me on a plan so it did not happen again

I would like to add to the pile of Krapp ROGERS has extended to me. I had a plan with Rogers less than 5 months and had International calling added to my BOLD before I was over seas. Not did I know when I was there,while charging my cell phone costs me 1500.00 $ in roaming charges,as it sit in my room. Besides me on business, my cell was then disconnected and could not use the phone, and I had not used it for more than receiving the locals calls with my friends who resided in UK. My local calls and total bill was less than $20 in local calls sent. When I returned to Canada after 17 days, my usuage of the phone was only 10 days while I had it operating. I got a bill of 3500.00 in roaming charges on one day of charging my phone as it sit on the dressor, and of course on my birthday. Thanks for the lovely gift Rogers. I truly hate this company!!

I have an issue with Rpgers billing me for services I did not have for a month after my contract expired with them. They say they can do this because #11 on page two of the billing allows them to do so. The clause says that you have to call them to give 30 days notice to stop the service. I must be getting old but if my contract expires December 31, the contract is over. November 30th, their system should be sending them a notice saying that my contract is over December 31. November 30th is their 30 days notice. Can you imagine how hard my boss would laugh if I gave him the same terms? That I was going to keep working and he has to pay me becasue he did not give me 30 days notice after my contracts says that December 31 is my last day? Better yet, my contract is over December 31st and I am not working but he did not give me 30 days notice? When did a contract stop being binding?

The lady you mentioned with the 1300.00 roaming bill? That's nothing. I worked at a call center (dealing primarily with Americans) and one of the most memorable calls I got was a guy who went to China and downloaded 3 Gb's of data and got a $20,000.00+ bill. I said "Sorry, the charges are valid, have a nice day". The lady on your show should have practiced her due diligence and checked the cost of roaming before she left, if she went to an internet cafe it would have been far cheaper.

I find it strange that in Canada, when you want to cancel your phone contract (or indeed any contract), you have to pay out the price of said contract. I don't think that there shouldn't be some sort of penalization for not 'fulfilling' the contract, but why not charge a sum that makes sense, like $100, than the price it would be for, say, 2 whole extra years. This is the main reason why I use Fido - can have a monthly plan without a yearly contract.

My experience with cell phones is short and living here in the Yukon there is not much choice. After a summer of experiencing tech problems, Latitude Wireless was backbilling up to 6 months without explanation to the customer. when challenged, they have stopped the practice. It sounds like they did the honorable thing. I also found out that the CRTC has nothing to do with cell phones, there is not governing body! at all!

I just received my Bell Mobility phone bill for my son's phone and was stunned at the $883.00 charge. If your child says yes they would like to receive one of these subscriptions that's all it takes and they send one every 5 minutes at $1.25 a pop. So out of the $883.00 that Bell collects what is their cut out of this scam. They promote family plans and student plans but put in no precautions to the child that is unaware of the charges that accumulate until that first bill comes in. They hold the parents captive with credit rating threats so this easy money for the phone company.

By the way sir, i notice you have a recurring credit on your account that was given to you by one of our agents and they really shouldnt have done that. I have removed the recurring credit and will make sure the agent is coached. WTF! So to sum it up. THEY contacted ME to help me out and and make me a happy customer yet they end up renigging on a credit that was offered to me to stay with the company. There was nothing I could do to get this person to put that credit back.

They can get away with whatever they want with no regard for customer service or broken promises. Bring on the competition! There are providers in the United States that offer FREE calling to Canada as part of their plans. I would love to be able to sign up and get an American phone cheaper and talk/text my Canadian friends. The only problem is that people calling me would pay LD.

I hate cell phone companies. I wish I knew about this episode before now I'd have wanted to be on it LOL.

My most recent nightmare was probably the best of the worst of my experiences.

A few weeks ago i Twitted how much i hated my provider. They screwed my bill up again and i was pretty frustrated. Next thing i know i get a message from one of their Twitter Guards. She told me she would love to help me out and make me a happy customer again. I believed her. Told her my story and she quickly escalated me to the Office of the President! Wow! Well the representative from the Office of the President promptly resolved my billing issue and credited me back what was wrongly billed. She emailed me to let me know of this. After the paragraph with her giving me good news, she stuck in a By The Way...

I had a very similar story: I went to Mexico after Christmas 2009 and checked my emails on the phone for a couple of minutes, four times, in the Dallas Airport and in Mexico. They charged me almost $800 in data roaming charges ($900 total). I complained everywhere and I couldn't even get a defered payment plan. As a last resort, I wrote a letter to Bell headquarters in Toronto a month ago. "Fortunately" for me, data charges on the web were lower than the bill and were not updated when I sent the letter. I got a call from them two days ago and they said they are going to credit around $300 because of the charge missmatch between the bill and the web at the time of the charge. This super terrible story became just a really bad one after complaining for over a month!

Posted by Rose Tzanis on February 20, 2010 12:29 PM

They are teenagers. The only you can control their usage is to take away their phone. That's the teenage behaviour. They signed up for premium text, which absolutely nothing to do with Rogers/Bell/Telus. The child got a warning before accepting the $2-$3 /message charge, and she accepted it. How is it the provider's fault? Your child WILL lie and tell you they don't message a lot, but they DO, and that is a fact. Please come out of your perfect world and see the truth.

Rogers and Bell are the worst companies I've ever dealt with. We really need more competition in the wireless market here in Canada, hopefully, that will bring the prices down.

A couple of years ago my mother signed for me to get a cellphone(With Bell). They were supposed to cut me off if my service reached over 500$(I was on a minors program that they then offered). The first bill rolled around and it was a whopping 900$ which my parents graciously paid but told me if it happened again the phone would be cut off. The next bill came with another 7200$ bill (Which they still have in possession) My parents got harassed by the company when they tried to investigate further into this, and because they are quite technology challenged they ended up having to pay this bill. These companies are a SCAM. They harass their customers and when they try and raise any issues with them they offer you MORE stuff to buy. I used Telus pay as you go for a short while and said to heck with ALL cellphones. Got a home phone(With bell) and cut off long distance on it. Still problems.

I've had Telus pay and talk for the last two years. The only reason I haven't gotten ripped off is because of my relentless calls whenever I get overcharged. Sometimes I accidentally hit the web browsing button, charging myself 10 cents. I call in, and usually get the charges refunded. They then promise me that they will block web browsing on my phone so it won't happen again.

i've now had that promise no less than 23 times.

Another thing that really ticks me off is the lack of long distance plans on pay and talk. There's no way to make or receive direct long distance calls without being charged 30 cents per minute.

In the US I can get an AT&T go phone with no plan, and pay 10 cents per minute to make or receive calls nation wide. They also have an unlimited plan for $60.
Great work. I hope this draws some attention to the horrible cell phone rates in this country.

I am all for making a profit off a service, I mean isn't that why we get out of bed every morning? But there needs to be moderation and regulation in this industry an that includes accountability... To the CUSTOMER! These big Goliath-like companies are running amuck seemingly as though no one can, or wants, to pull the reigns in.

I know cell service is dirt cheap. It has to be. Why else would countries like Ghana NOT install copper lines and switching stations and all that goes with conventional phone service there? Because THATS too expensive.

I just found out what one other person already mentioned regarding being charged for "long distance for INCOMING CALLS". I had words with my carrier about how that was never disclosed to me and how much of a scumbag they were for sneaking that into their service without as much as one word on the change.

Someone, please, kick their asses!

We need a solution should we buy our plan in the states get a long distance plan -would we be ahead of the game??
anJ

Just came back from 3 weeks in the middle East. I had to purchase a local cellphone in Dubai to avoid using my Rogers iphone. I was able to buy local SIM cards in Dubai, Egypt and Jordan for $10- with unlimited incoming calls. I received a bill of over $1000 dollars for a few calls and $500 dollars of data which Rogers call program update in the background. None were for email or internet access.
It is obvious that our Canadian phone companies cannot compete on the world stage compared to Vodaphone etc. However I would like to find out why they put our business people at a serious disadvantage conducting business overseas. Canada need a strong export oriented businesses for our trade. We need competitive phone rates when travelling or make phone locking illegal so we can get local SIM cards.

I switched to a cell phone from bell 6 months and took a plan that allows me 5 long distance friends at no charge along with nights and weekends. I pay $57.00 and have not had any problems. I guess I am just lucky I have no teenage kids to run up a big bill

About five years ago I got my first cell phone with Bell and over a year later they cut me off and sent me a big bill for ending the contract. I phoned them up and he says you only made three payments in all this time. Then there was a long pause and he realized that they were all paid in advance. Hahaha They made a mistake. Anyway The guy was polite and restored my service the next day.

I wanted to tell them to shove it but chose to stay with them because the guy on the phone was polite and took off the charges without arguing.

After all these years I must admit there have been no problems with Bell. The phone works were others don't so that was a bonus for me. Other than the monthly bill being to high for what I get. I'm happy with them.

But after reading all the stories about people being sh*t on scares the hell out of me. I'm tempted to trash the phone.

Rogers treats its customers like cattle. My Rogers cellphone contract expired last month and I'll be cancelling my Rogers cable TV next month. Then I'll be proud to say that our household is a "100% Rogers-free Zone!"

According to CRTC regulations, if a telecommunications provider "accidently" over charges a customer, they do not have to give a refund *even if they become aware of the over charge* UNLESS *the customer asks for it*.

That right there speaks volumes about the environment these companies exist within, and why we get so ripped off.

MTS has successfully broomed Telus out of the Manitoba and left the subscribers "contracted" with non-working equipment, broken promises, leaving ONLY a "contract to pay" for the duration of whatever existing term remains. My bill went out of control in December, climbing hundreds of dollars a month, even after it was "suspended". After several *days* of being transferred around to dozens of cubicle dwellers Telus finally acknowledged that they had "changed the plan" and credited me back the substantial "long distance" charges they blamed on MTS (who Telus claims, loves Rogers more now) but still made me pay for the months the phone was unusable as "they have a contract" and offered destroy my credit rating if i try to leave without paying a $1500.00 "cancellation fee". Telus's 'service area' is now a fraction of what it was when i signed on, none of this matters.. PayUP ..or else..

Pay and Talk is pretty expensive. Especially when you have time limited amounts to add to the phone for talk time.
They need new legislation exactly like the gift cards - it never expires until you have used the time (money) you originally bought. Talk about robbery with 30 day,60 day and 1 year cards where the account balance tops up, if you forget after 30/60/365 days it reverts to 0$ and you begin over. I lost 54.00 via Telus that way. Through promises in emails to return by credit after topping up the phone they never added back my credit. I have since refused to top it up again.
Now I recieved and email that they have droped thier rates.
Like I care. Really they have been gouging consumers since cellular became available in Canada. CRTC does nothing and is useless for the average consumer.

Hi, I am a supporter of this program and of course this one really is at the top of the list. I have been a dedicated customer of Rogers for around 20 years(That is dedication) Since December 2009 Most of the Cell phone companied have made changes to their "Local Calling Areas" Not sure how they can do this without breaking contract terms. I started getting billed long distance charges for all my local incoming calls still within the updated calling areas. The calls are routed through Rogers Chilliwack tower and charged long distance by the minute. My December & Jan. bills have these charges to total Approx. $150 in incorrect billing charges. Rogers have admitted this and after arguing for hours with them gave me credits. They made it clear that I would now have to pay for a long distace package to avoid this. I have filed a complaint with the CTRC.

Well I had hoped to get my bill included in the show since I believe it is a strong candidate at $7500 for 1 month, but being an old bill I had to request reprints from Rogers (which they graciously charge me 4$ per invoice)and they seem to be taking their sweet time sending it out.
I think all canadians would agree that our cell phone service providers have been taking advantage of us for long enough and hope that programs like this shine a spotlight on their crooked ways.

@Linda Menzie: I've had multiple customer service experiences with Bell similar to yours. They do that a lot. When they run into a problem they put you on hold until you hang up so they don't have to deal with it.

Let's talk about unfair. So last year after being with TELUS for about 8 months; I found myself out of work and behind by two months to them. I phoned and pleaded relentlessly to make some type of arrangement. They told me there were no options; they cut off service to the phones and since we were under a three year contract we would have to pay it out which would be $1600.00! Needless to say I was shocked to learn that in the meantime they still intended to charge us for Although we continued to try to catch up by month 3 and one more phone call I was told "Oh, Sorry we cancelled it altogether now and you have to pay out the remainder of the contract." Disgusted is what I think of their service because to have an extra 3 months added to the bill and still have to pay out contract was terrible. No more TELUS for us or our friends.

This is related, my pay and go plan charges (so they claim) 10 cents to access a web page. Just for fun, I opened the browser, closed it and was charged $1.40 for accessing the one page.

In Canada having a cellphone is expensive. Aman.

In April of 2009 I had a current bill of about $150, and was moving from Moncton to Calgary, driving through the US to get there. I called Rogers to set up a plan for the month for my cell phone and rocket internet stick for during the trip, was charge for a text package & internet package for while in US, only to get a bill in June for $1400. I called to argue the charges and they told me the plans I had asked for in April actually didn't exist and would refund my $40. I told them to cancel my plan (which would have been another $400 to cancel the contract). I am still getting monthly bills which I refuse to pay as I haven't had service with them since June. The bill is now at around $3500!

We have been with Bell/Aliant for about 25 years now. Three months ago we traded our phones in for new ones. Since we changed our phones our bills have gone up by about 50 a month. In January our bill had about 45.00 worth of web browsing charges on it. When we called they agreed to take $13. off our bill and we never browse. The following month even after my bus. partner had gone in and had our phones locked so we couldn't browse, we received another bill with $40. worth of web browsing on it. When I questioned them, they gave me the full amount credited off my bill. I asked them to explain how it could have happened when my web browsing was locked and asked how I could be sure the charges were real from the previous bill, she put me on hold for 40 minutes till I got tired of waiting and hung up!!! Disgusting treatment of a 25 yr. aliant customer!

It's insane how high rates are in this country. We have some of the highest rates in the world. Guess that's what happens with monoplies.

Not the worst cell bill maybe but the worst calling card bill. Stuck in Newark Airport on Jan 3-4 used our home line calling card to call to cancel work, figure out rides ,letting them know if an when I got a flight. A 3 minute call was 17$ ...am disputing the charges but they say even though I used my calling card it went through another comnpany and its that carrier who do the high charges....why have a calling card??????will never be with out a prepaid phone card again (they were sold out at airport)still disputing the charges

I am a 21 year old student and my phone bill over the past 18 months has been $3500, I am a customer with rogers and they don't offer any sort of student discount and to be honest it's bull****. We here in Canada pay more money for wireless service then anywhere else in the world...why? American's don't. Its time smaller companies entered the market and provided competition for the big companies such as Rogers and Bell.

p.s Service charges? $6.95 a month? for what?

This is a great topic! a couple of months ago my cell phone bills came in and l looked and looked and was convinced they made a mistake. I have a bundle plan with rogers.
I have myself and my two children with cellphones.My son Alexander is 15 and has stayed within his limits of talk and text. Which I feel is fairly reasonable 1000 text messages and 500 min with unlimited evenings(after7pm) as well as weekends. My daughter Natalie who is 13 has the same plan but went way over. The bill for her alone came in at what we pay for all my services with rogers. It was 309.67!
To say the least we were stunned. I found out that if my daughter just responsed to these companies that advertised free this or that we were being charged by the second ridiculous amounts like 2-3 dollars a text message.
They call it premium text. Plus texting to friends she met in the USA.
Rose

I was on a plan from Rogers AT&T. I ended up on welfare so I droped to the smallest plan they had. That month I got a bill for over $300. Turns out they charged for every incoming and outgoing call. Had I not gone to the lesser plan, they charge would have been $24.95. I refused to pay and ask to cancel. They wanted $500 plus the charges to cancel. I refused and after a couple of months, they cancelled my plan and sent me a bill for over $800. That was 2 years ago. They have now sent the bill to a collection agency that has been calling me daily for the last 18 months. I have declared bankruptsy but this has not stopped them. (BULLIES, I HATE BULLIES)

Regards...

Wendy. Rogers has all the power. they have made a $1100 equifax report on a disputed bill. they were unable to provide coverage fully half of every day. People told me 1/2 the time I was unreachable despite the phone being with me and on. I paid my usage but they told me I owed them $400 to cancel or continued min billing...which they apparently still are doing. My reasoning was that they couldn't provide the service I paid for thus we had no contract..they disagreed.
I can't make the same credit report and my only resolve is small claims court in Ontario from N.S.! The service contract wasn;t even what I signed for..it was altered verbally and unilaterally I assume.
If this is of interest I will submit my documents...

I would just like to say that I signed up with bell two years ago and have found their services to be out rageous. $160 a month for two cell phones comes as nothing more than legalised extortion! Compared to lesser companies I could have five phones for this money and to try and get out of this three year contract they want my bill payed in full and a $700 surcharge to break the contract! I heard a few years back that the government was going to review policy of some cell providers but have not seen any action thus far,perhaps a multi million dollar study, of taxpayer monies, to let me know I am getting screwed by the cell companies is in order! Ma Bell can take my cell phone contract and do you know what with it! I have had it up to here with these companies and the government's do nothing attitude. Perhaps they should get out of Ma Bell's bed or are they going to subsidize her too!